Sika Automotive Awarded US Patent for Baffles With Magnetic Attachment

    MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich., Jan. 8, 2003; The U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office has granted Sika Automotive US Patent No. 6,455,146 for a new
design of an expansible synthetic resin baffle with a magnetic attachment.
The baffle was designed by Sika Automotive Vice President of Engineering,
Gerald E. Fitzgerald.
    The new two layered design allows the baffle to conform to and be
magnetically coupled to a body having a ferromagnetic component in proximity
to the baffle.  The first layer is a flexible thermally expansible baffle
material which expands when subjected to an elevated temperature.  The second
layer is a flexible magnetic material.  The baffle can be flexed to conform to
an irregular or curved surface.  The baffle can also be preformed to provide
an irregular or curved portion to conform to the body on which it is placed.
The magnetic layer facilitates attachment and removal without the need to
provide holes in the body.  When heated, the baffle material expands to fill
cavities and adheres to the inside wall surface of the body.
    "The magnetic layer provides a new way to attach baffle materials to oily
metal surfaces and is especially helpful where complex metal surfaces exist in
the car body structure," stated Mr. Fitzgerald.  "This approach also provides
a cost effective way to soundproof a body structure by eliminating the metal
or nylon support shelf of a typical baffle."
    Sika Automotive, based in Madison Heights, MI, a division of Sika
Corporation, is an industry leader in the development and production of high
performance acoustic, bonding, reinforcing and sealing systems.  Sika
Automotive provides automobile manufacturers with proven material, application
engineering and validation expertise to improve interior sound quality and
structural performance in vehicles worldwide.  Sika Automotive optimizes cost
effective, complete solutions in its dedicated, state of the art, Acoustic
Test Facility, located in Madison Heights, MI.  Visit the Sika Automotive
website http://www.sika-automotive.com .
    Sika Corporation is a leading supplier of specialty chemical products and
industrial materials serving construction and industrial markets including
transportation, marine, and automotive.  Sika Corporation is a subsidiary of
Sika AG, Baar, Switzerland.  Sika has annual sales of approximately US$1.5
billion (CHF 2.2 billion), over 8,000 employees and operations in more than 60
countries.  Visit the Sika website at http://www.sika.com